Mounting jig for electrical outlet boxes

ABSTRACT

A JIG FOR MOUNTING ELECTRICAL OUTLET BOXES TO BUILDING WALL AND CEILING MEMBERS HAVING A THREE-SIDED OPEN LOOP SECTION ADAPTED TO GRASP A WALL OF AN OUTLET BOX, AN ALIGNMENT ARM SECTION EXTENDING FROM THE LOOP SECTION TO ALIGN THE BOX AND JIG ON A BUILDING MEMBER, AND A LEG MEMBER SECTION EXTEND-   ING FROM ADJACENT THE ARM SECTION TO HOLD THE JIG AND BOX ON A BUILDING MEMBER.

United States Patent Inventor Joseph R. Callahan Whitman, Mass.

Appl. No. 772,566

Filed Nov. 1, i968 Patented June 28, 1971 Assignee Cal-Tav, Inc.

Cambridge, Mass.

MOUNTING J [G FOR ELECTRICAL OUTLET BOXES 9 Claims, 11 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 269/98, 24/73(B), 220/3.6, 248/27 Int. Cl B25b 5/14, 1325b 1 1/02 Field of Search 269/50, 77,

95,98, 254, 321 (S); 220/3.6, 3.9, 3.9-2; 248/27, (OB digest); 33/180 (A), (OB digest); 24/73 (B), 81, 81 (B), 81(TC), 8i (PH), 261, 261 (LS), 26]

(CF), 261 (WL); 2] H45 I 56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,668,342 2/1954 Nelsson ..24/26l(WL)UX 3,434,686 3/1969 Aoi 211/45 FOREIGN PATENTS l,l9l,541 4/1965 Germany 24/73(b) Primary Examiner-Andrew R. Juhasz Assistant Examiner Donald D. Evenson Att0rneyCurtis, Morris & Safford ABSTRACT: A jig for mounting electrical outlet boxes to building wall and ceiling members having a three-sided open loop section adapted to grasp a wall of an outlet box, an alignment arm section extending from the loop section to align the box and jig on a building member, and a leg member section extending from adjacent the arm section to hold the jig and box on a building member.

PATENTEnJuuzslan 3,588,084

sum 1 or 3 INVEN'I'OR. JOSEPH R. CALLANAN ATTORNEYS PATENTEDJUN28I97| 3,588,084

SHEET 2 0F 3 INVEN'I'OR. JOSEPH R CAL LANAN 9,25 WWW ATTORNEYS M PATENTED JUN28 I97! SHEET 3 BF 3 lNVl/IN'I'OR. JOSEPH R CALLANAN ATTORNEYS MOUNTING JIG FOR ELECTRICAL OUTLET BOXES This invention relates to a device for mounting electrical outlet boxes, and more particularly to a sturdy, inexpensive, one-piece or two-piece reusable jig that quickly and easily can be slipped onto an electrical outlet box with which it can be mounted on a stud or joist of a building under construction to align the box accurately for securing the box to the stud or joist, and then readily can be removed from the box and building member.

Outlet boxes ordinarily are mounted in new buildings, for example houses, on wall studs or ceiling joists over which a lath and plaster or a dry-wall construction is placed to form the interior walls or ceilings. The open end of the box, into which later is placed a fixture, receptacle or switch, must extend outwardly from the stud or joist an amount about equal to the wall or ceiling thickness so that the exposed portion of the box will be flush with the wall or ceiling. Also, the box must be aligned vertically or horizontally so the edges of the opening project an equal distance from the front face of the stud. I

Hand mounting of electrical boxes is difficult and time consuming because at least one hand must be used to hold the box as it is secured, e.g., by nails, to the stud orjoist. The box often slips, or inadvertently is moved by the workers hand, and is misaligned. A house might have as many as 20 or more electrical outlets, so that the time involved properly to hand mount the outlet boxes, and to remount misaligned ones, is considerable.

Numerous device have been created to align or to hold and align electrical outlet boxes as they are secured to building members. Many such devices have been patented, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,802,634, No. 2,990,l72 and No. 3,l54,304. In general, however, the previous devices have serious shortcomings. Some are permanently affixed to the box, stud or joist, and thus are not reusable. Others are of relatively complex construction, having a multiplicity of parts many of which are movable, and thus are both expensive to make and very subject to wear and breakage.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved mounting jig for electrical outlet boxes. Another object of this invention is to provide an outlet box mounting jig that is readily attached to the box, simple to place on a building member, accurately and positively aligns and holds the box against a stud or joist, and is easily removed from both the box and building member for reuse, all in a comparatively short amount of time. A further object of this invention is to provide a jig of the type described that has a relatively simple design and unitary construction or without a multiplicity of parts, particularly moving parts. These and other objects of this invention will be in part discussed in, and in part apparent from, the following more detailed disclosure.

The present invention can be understood more thoroughly by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to corresponding elements, and in which:

FIG. I is a perspective and shows an embodiment of an electrical outlet box mounting jig according to this invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial section and shows the jig of FIG. 1 and its relation to an outlet box;

FIG. 3 is a partial section and shows an outlet box mounted and aligned on a building member by the jig of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are elevations and show modifications of a portion of the jig of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a perspective and shows another embodiment of an electrical outlet box mounting jig according to this invention;

FIG. 7 is a partial section and shows the jig of FIG. 6 and its relation to an outlet box;

FIG. 8 is a partial section and shows an outlet box mounted and aligned on a building member by the jig of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a perspective and shows another embodiment of an electrical outlet box mounting jig according to this invention;

FIG. 10 is a partial section and shows the jig of FIG. 9 and its relation to an outlet box;

FIG. 11 is a partial section and shows an outlet box mounted and aligned on a building member by the jig of FIG. 9.

Broadly, a jig 10 according to this invention has an open loop section 12 that is adapted to extend over and embrace an edge 14 of one sidewall 16 of an electrical outlet box 15 (partially shown in the drawings). The open loop 12 of the jig 10 is pressed over the wall edge 16 until the closed end 18 of the loop is uniformly against the edge 14. The sides 20,22 of the open loop 12 press against the sides of the wall 16 and firmly hold the box 15. The loop 12 fits over the wall edge 14 an amount X equal to the distance the outlet box 15 is to project out from the face 24b of a building member 24 such as a stud or joist, i.e., the thickness of the interior wall or ceiling construction to be placed on the building member. The sides 22 of the open loop section can be formed in any convenient manner, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, so that they extend down from the closed end 18 the distance X and are spaced from sidewalls 20 an amount to receive box edge 14 tightly.

Extending from one side 22 of the open loop section 12 is an alignment arm 26. The plane of the arm is substantially parallel to the plane of the closed end 18 of the loop 12. To align a box 15 on a building member, the box is placed against one side 24a of the member 24 and the alignment arm 26 of the jig is pushed flush against the outer face 24b of the member. Thus the periphery 14,14a of the open end of the box uniformly projects the desired distance X beyond the stud or joist, and the box is accurately and positively aligned for mounting.

To hold an aligned box 15 against a building member 24 during mounting, a leg member 28 extends from adjacent the arm 26 at an end thereof. The leg member 28 serves to apply .pressure against the side 24c of the stud or joist opposite the sidewall 16 of the box 15, and thus, in effect, to clamp the box 15 and jig 10 to the stud orjoist. Mounted in that fashion, the outlet box can be fastened to a building member without having to hold the box by hand.

For ease of placing the open loop section 12 over the sidewall edge 14 of the box 15, a tab section 30 optionally extends from the sidewall 20 of the loop 12 opposite the arm 26. The tab section 30 also serves to prevent any tendency of the box 15 to rotate, in the loop 12, away from the building member 24, and thus is a desirable feature of the instant jigs.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the leg member 28 is an integral part of the open loop section 12 and the alignment arm 26. That is, the jig 10 is of unitary construction with one or more leg members 28 extending from the ends of the alignment arm or arms 26.

FIGS. 3, 8 and 11 illustrate the profile of a jig 10, on a box and a building member, in what can be called a distended holding condition. One end of the sidewall 22 of the open loop 12 tends to close in toward the other sidewall 20. Inasmuch, as

the jig 10 is made of a strip of a resiliently flexible material, for example, a wire or rod of a spring steel or a synthetic plastic having similar properties, the sidewalls 20,22 of the loop can be spread apart to receive the edge 14 of the box wall 16 and, in that operative condition, exert a pressure against the box wall to hold the box 15 firmly. Similarly, the leg member 28 is substantially in a plane somewhat at less than a right angle to the alignment arm 26, and tends to close toward the loop 12. Thus it can be spread outwardly for positioning on a stud or joist 24 against which it exerts a pressure to hold the jig l0 and the box 15 firmly until the box is fastened. Thereafter the jig is quickly and easily removed by grasping the loop 12 and pulling the jig off both the stud or joist and the box.

FIGS. 6 through 11 show other forms of the instant jigs 10a,10b in which the leg member 28,281; is pivotally mounted so that it can be swung into holding position against face 24c of the building member 24 after the jig and the box held thereby are aligned against faces 24a and 24b. In the embodiment of FIGS. 6, 7 and 8, the leg member 28a is pivotally mounted by any convenient means 32 adjacent the end of alignment arm 26a opposite the open loop section 12. In the embodiment of FIGS. 9, l0 and 11, the leg member 28b is similarly mounted from an extension 29 by pivot means 32a adjacent the end of alignment arm 26b attached to the open loop section 12. It will be apparent that the alignment arm 26b and the leg extension 29 can be a single piece, the pivoted end of the extension serving to align the jig b and box against the face 24b of the building member 24. The pivotal mounting of the leg member 28a,28b in each embodiment of the jig 1011,1012 is located in a manner such that, in the holding position shown in FlGS. 8 and 11, the leg member is in a stressed or distended condition locked and bearing against the building member 24. The leg members 2811,28b as previously mentioned are of a flexibly resilient strip or rod material, preferably spring steel or the like, so that in the distended condition of the holding position of the leg members exerts a force against the building member 24 to hold the jig 10a,10b and box 15 firmly in place. After the box 15 is fastened to the stud or joist, the jig 10a,10b is quickly and easily removed by grasping the loop 12 and pulling the jig off both the box and the building member, with or without first swinging the log member 28a,28b away from the stud or joist.

A feature ofa preferred embodiment of the invention also is illustrated in the drawings, e.g., FIG. 7. The sidewall 22 of the open loop section 12 attached to the arm section 26 and adapted to bear against the exterior face 16a of the wall 16 of an outlet box, has at the end adjacent the arm 26 a portion 22a turned away from the opposite wall 20 of the loop. The line of the turn, or bend 34, in the wall corresponds to a lip 36 around the periphery 14,140 of the opening of many outlet boxes. The lip 36 reinforces the opening, especially of boxes made of relatively brittle material, such as Bakelite. As the loop 12 is passed over the edge 14 of the box 15, and the line of the turn 34 in the sidewall 22 passes beyond the lip 36, the box tends to snap into place in the loop. The snapping movement usually is accompanied by a distinct sound, often a musical sound if the jig is made of a metal such as steel. The snap movement and the sound signal positively that the box 15 is firmly and properly mounted in the jig 10.

It is of course to be understood that numerous changes can be made in the design and structure of the jigs of this invention without departing from the scope of the invention as disclosed herein before and as defined in the following claims.

lclaim:

1. A jig for mounting electrical outlet boxes which comprises: an open loop section having a closed end, a first sidewall extending from one side of said closed end, and a second sidewall extending from the opposite side of said closed end in the same direction as and toward said first sidewall, said open loop section being formed of a thin elongated flexibly resilient material and adapted to fit over an edge of and to bear firmly against a sidewall of an electrical outlet box to hold said box in said jig; an alignment arm extending substantially perpendicularly outward from said second sidewall of said open loop section and being adapted at least in part to bear against the face of a building member to which said outlet box is to be fastened; and a leg member extending from adjacent said alignment arm a relatively greater distance from said closed end than and in the direction of said second sidewall of said open loop section and toward said section, said leg member being formed of a thin elongated flexibly resilient material and adapted to bear firmly against said building member on the side thereof opposite an outlet box mounted in said jig and to hold said jig and said box onto said building member.

2. A jig for mounting electrical outlet boxes according to claim 1 wherein said open loop section, said alignment arm and said leg member are a single piece of said flexibly resilient material bent to form said section, arm and member.

3. A jig for mounting electrical outlet boxes according to claim 1 wherein said flexibly resilient material is a metal.

4. A jig for mounting electrical outlet boxes according to claim 3 wherein said flexible resilient material is steel.

5. A jig for mounting electrical outlet boxes according to claim 1 wherein said second sidewall of said open loop section extends from the closed end thereof an amount substantially equal to a predetermined distance said outlet box 15 to pro ect out from said building member, and said alignment arm extends from adjacent an end of said second sidewall.

6. A jig for mounting electrical outlet boxes according to claim 1 wherein said first sidewall of said open loop section extends a greater distance from said closed end than said second sidewall ofsaid open loop section.

7. A jig for mounting electrical outlet boxes according to claim 1 wherein said leg member, in an undistended condition, is at less than a right angle to said alignment arm.

8. A jig for mounting electrical outlet boxes according to claim 1 wherein a first portion of said second sidewall of said open loop section is, in an undistended condition, at less than a right angle to said closed end of said loop, and a second portion of said second sidewall is at an angle to said first portion away from said sidewall.

9. A jig for mounting electrical outlet boxes which comprises: an open loop section having a closed end, a first sidewall extending from one side of said closed end, and a second sidewall extending from the opposite side of said closed end, said second sidewall having a first portion that extends in an undistended condition at less than a right angle to said closed end of said loop and having a second portion at an angle to said first portion away from said first sidewall, said open loop section being formed of a thin elongated flexibly resilient material and adapted to fit over an edge of and to bear firmly against a sidewall of an electrical outlet box to hold said box in said jig; an alignment arm extending substantially perpendicularly outward from one of said sidewalls of said open loop section and being adapted at least in part to bear against the face of a building member to which said outlet box is to be fastened; and a leg member extending from adjacent said alignment arm in the direction of the open end of said open loop section, said leg member being formed of a thin elongated flexibly resilient material and adapted to bear firmly against said building member on the side thereof opposite an outlet box mounted in said jig and to hold said jig and said box into said building member. 

